Refrigeration apparatus



Nov. 24, 1959 P. c. KORODl 2,914,218

REFRIGERATION APPARATUS Filed July 9', 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IINVENTOR FG. 3. PAUL c. KORODI ATTORNEY Nov. 24, 1959 P. c. KORODYI REFRIGERATIONAPPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 9, 1957 I. I'l

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INVENTOR PAUL 0. KO W ATTORNEY United States Patent REFRIGERATIONAPPARATUS Paul C. Korodi, Columbus, Ohio, assignor to WestinghouseElectric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation ofPennsylvania Application July 9, 1957, Serial No. 670,692 4 Claims. (Cl.222-131) This invention relates to refrigeration apparatus and moreparticularly to an improved drink dispensing arrangement for domesticrefrigerators or the like.

It has heretofore been recognized that a water or soft drink chillingand dispensing system is a desirable accessory for a domesticrefrigerator. This invention relates to accessories of this type andenvisions a drink dispensing arrangement that may be easily'incorporatedinto the refrigerator and gives improved performance over priorarrangements from the standpoint of accessibility and ease ofmaintenance. In accordance with the invention, a storage container orcontainers, disposed within the in- 'sulated and refrigerated cabinet,supply water or fruit beverages and the like to a dispensing centerstationarily mounted on the front of the refrigerator cabinet in areadily accessible position. The dispensing center, which includesdischarge nozzles and appropriate valves for controlling the dischargeof fluid from the nozzles, is carried by the forward edge of one of theinsulated walls of the refrigerator cabinet in a region closelyadjacent, but not covered by a movable door closing the front of thecabinet. In the preferred embodiment, the'dispensing center occupies afrontal region of the cabinet between adjacent edges of two cabinetdoors, which region is in a cut-out area of one of the doors. Theadjacent peripheral portions of the two doors seat and seal against aninsulated wall that provides -a mullion for the doors as well as asupport for the dispensing center.

A feature of the invention is the arrangement of the dispensing centerin a region of the cabinet which is accessible to the user for obtainingadrink without the necessity of opening the cabinet door. Furthermore,because the dispensing center is stationarily mounted with respect tothe refrigerator cabinet, simple-fluid connections can be providedbetween the center and the storage containers inside the cabinet. Theinvention'eliminates the need for flexible conduits or connectionsbetween door carried dispensing nozzles and cabinet mounted stor age andcooling containers such as are required with some prior artarrangements. Moreover, the invention constitutes an improvement overprior dispensing arrangements employing manually refillable,door-mounted containers, in that the storage and cooling containers,being stationarily mounted in the cabinet, can be plumbed directly intothe household water supply system, using only conventional conduits andconnectors, 1

Other features, advantages and-objects of the invention will becomeapparent from the following detailed description of the invention, ofwhich the attached drawings form a part and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a refrigerator cabinet embodying thedispensing arrangement of this invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken through therefrigerator cabinet as indicated bythe line IIII in Fig. l, and showingthe dispensing arrangement in greater detail;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view'taken through the 2 refrigeratorcabinet as indicated by the line III-III in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is another fragmentary sectional view taken as indicated by theline IV-IV in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the cabinet with one of the doors open;and,

Fig. 6 is an enlarged sectional view of a valve employed in thedispensing arrangement.

Referring specifically to Figs. 1 and 5, the numeral 11 designates adomestic refrigerator cabinet having a pair of doors 12 and 13 hingedlymounted on the front thereof. Disposed between adjacent peripheral edgesof the doors 12 and 13 is a dispensing center 14 from which water andsoft drinks such as fruit beverages can be ob tained by the user of therefrigerator. The dispensing center 14 preferably projects through anotched or cleft region in the lower edge portion of the upper door 12in a manner to blend decoratively with the front surface of therefrigerator cabinet as presented by the doors 11 and 12.

The dispensing center 14 is adapted to selectively deliver water and/ orsoft drinks, which are stored and cooled within the interior of thecabinet 11. Figs. 2 and 3 illustrate the dispensing center in greaterdetail. As is common in most two-door refrigerators, the cabinet 11 hasa horizontal partition 15 disposed therein that divides the cabinet intoupper and lower food storage chambers 16 and 17. Access to the chambers16 and 17 is permitted by the movable doors 12 and 13. Each door has agasket 18 disposed about the periphery of the inner face thereof, whichgaskets seat against and form a seal with the cabinet 11. The gasketportions disposed along the lower edge of the upper door 12 and theupper edge of the lower door 13 (the adjacent peripheral portions of thedoors) are adapted to seat-against spaced areas on the surface of amullion 19 mounted on the front edge of the'cabinet partition 15. Themullion 19 is preferably a molded plastic part having a generallyC-shaped cross section as shown in Figs. 2 and 4. The mullion has formedintegrally therewith an open-front box or housing 20 that forms a partof the dispensing center 14. The mullion 19 also includes a frame 21projecting from the sides and top of housing 2 0, and forming a seatingarea for that portion of gasket 18 that extends around the notched outportion of the upper-door 12. It will be noted the space between theadjacent seating areas for the doors 12 and 13 is larger near the middleof the horizontal extent of themullion 19 (see Fig.2) than nearer theends of the mullion 19 (see Fig. 4). The dispensing center 14 isdisposed on the mullion 19 at the front edge of partition 15 in thisenlarged space between the seating areas for the doors 12 and 13. i

The dispensing center includes the housing portion 20 of the mullion19and a decorative cover member 22 disposed across the open front'of thehousing 20. The cover member 22 has a number of openings thereinthroughv which project a water dispensing nozzle 23, a water controlpush button 24, a pair of fruit beverage dispensing nozzles 25 and pushbuttons 26 for controlling the flow of beverage from the'nozzles 25. Thewater dispensing-nozzle 23 isconnected to a valve 27 that [is actuatedby push button 24. Water is supplied to the valve 27 through a conduit28 communicating with .the interior of a T-shapedwater storage tank 29resting on the upper'surface of =the cabinet partition 15. Water issupplied to the tank 29 under pressure by means of a pipe 30 connectedto the household water supply system. A tortuous flow path for water inthe tank 29 is provided by a plurality of transverse, vertical baiiles'39 extending alternately from the top and bottom walls of the tank toprevent warm water entering through pipe 30 from flowing directly intoconduit 28 without being properly Patented Nov. 24, 1959 chilled.Chilled water is through the nozzle 23 under the control of valve 27which is actuated by the push button 24.

The dispensing arrangement of this invention also provides for themixing and dispensing of fruit beverages or other soft drinks, throughthe nozzles 25, which 'drinks are mixed from concentrate solutionsstored in containers 31 disposed on, either side of the leg portion ofthe T- shaped water storage container 29. The concentrate containers 31also rest on the upper surface of the cabinet partition and are equippedwith hinged lids 32 in their tops to permit the supply of concentrate tobe replenished. Each concentrate container 31 has an L-shaped dischargepipe 33 communicating with the lower portion thereof and projectingforward from the container. Each discharge pipe 33 is joined by means ofa disconnectible coupling 34 to a combination eductor and shut-off valve35 which, in turn, is connected to one of thebeverage nozzles 25.Chilledwater from the container 29 is tapped from water conduit 28 andpasses through conduits 36 to valves 35. As shown in Fig. 6, the eductorvalves 35 include a venturi passage 37 that is capable of creating anegative pressure in couplings 34 and concentrate discharge pipes 33when water is permitted to flow through the valves. In Fig. 6 the waterflow is indicated by the solid line arrows and concentrate flow isindicated by the dotted line arrows. Thus, when one of the valves 35 isopened by means of its push button 26, concentrate is withdrawn from theconcentrate storage container 31 connected thereto, the concentrate ismixed with the water flowing through the valve 35, and a mixed beverageis dispensed through the nozzle connected to that valve.

The concentrate discharge pipe 33 for each storage container 31 isreadily separated from its coupling 34 (a tapered friction joint isillustrated in the drawings) to enable the concentrate containers 31 tobe disconnected from the dispensing arrangement and removed from thecabinet 11 for cleaning. The dispensing center cover 22 is preferablysecured to the housing 20 by detachable fasteners (not shown) and istherefore removable to permit access to the valves 27 and for servicepurposes.

From the foregoing it will be apparent this invention increases theusefulness of a domestic refrigerator by providing a novel dispensingarrangement which enables the user of the refrigerator to obtain achilled drink of water or other beverage from the refrigerator withoutopening the cabinet doors. This renders the refrigerator economical tooperate in that the interior of the refrigerator and the contentsthereof are not exposed to warm ambient air in obtaining a drink ofwater or beverage therefrom.

It will also be apparent that the dispensing arrangement dispensed fromthe tank 29 V constructed in accordance with this invention blends into7 the front surface of the cabinet 11 and adds to, rather than detractsfrom, the appearance of the refrigerator.

' While the invention has been shown in but one form, it will be obviousto those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but issusceptible of various changes and modifications without departing fromthe spirit thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In a refrigerator, an insulated cabinet, a horizontal insulatedpartition dividing said cabinet into upper and lower food storagechambers, said partition forming the bottom wall of the upper chamber, adoor for each of said chambers, said doors being movably carried by saidcabinet, a mullion mounted on the front edge of said partition andhaving an upwardly extending portion against which the lower edge ofsaid upper door is adapted to seat, a beverage container disposed insaid upper chamber on said partition, valve means in communication withsaid container for controlling the discharge of beverage from saidcontainer, said valve means being carried by said upwardly extendingportion of the mullion, a cover for said valve means, a discharge nozzleand a valve actuatrne nber, said nozzle and ,said actuating member being4 operatively connected to said valve means and extending through saidcover between adjacent edges of said doors for access by a user of therefrigerator.

2. In a refrigerator, an insulated cabinet, a horizontal insulatedpartition dividing said cabinet into upper and lower food storagechambers, said partition forming the bottom wall of the upper chamber, adoor for each of said chambers, said doors being movably carried by saidcabinet and having substantially co-planar front faces when closed, amullion mounted on the front edge of said partition and having anupwardly extending portion against which the lower edge of said upperdoor is adapted to seat, a beverage container disposed in said upperchamber on said partition, valve means in communication with saidcontainer for controlling the discharge of beverage from said container,said valve means being carried by said upwardly extending portion of themullion, a cover for said valve means, said cover having a front surfacesubstantially flush with said faces of said doors, a discharge nozzleand a valve actuating member, said nozzle and said actuating memberbeing operatively connected to said valve means and extending throughsaid cover between adjacent edges of said doors for access by a user ofthe refrigerator.

3. In a refrigerator, an insulated cabinet, a horizontal insulatedpartition dividing said cabinet into upper and lower food storagechambers, said partition forming the bottom wall of the upper chamber, adoor for each of said chambers, said doors being movably carried by saidcabinet, said upper door having a cut-out area at the lower edgethereof, a mullion mounted on the front edge of said partition andhaving an upwardly extending portion in the region of the cut-out areaof said upper door, a beverage container disposed in said upper chamberon said partition, valve means in communication with said container forcontrolling the discharge of beveragefrom said container, said valvemeans being disposed behind the cut-out area of said upper door andcarried by said upwardly extending portion of the mullion, a cover forsaid valve means, a discharge nozzle and a valve actuating member, saidnozzle and said actuating member being operatively connected to saidvalve means and extending through said cover for access by a user of therefrigerator.

4. In a refrigerator, an insulated cabinet, a horizontal insulatedpartition dividing said cabinet into upper and lower food storagechambers, said partition forming the bottom wall of the upper chamber, adoor for each of said chambers, said doors being movably carried by saidcabinet and having substantially co-planar front faces when closed, saidupper door having a cut-out area at the loweredge thereof, a mullionmounted on the front edge of said partition and having an upwardlyextending portion against which the lower edge of said upper door isadapted to seat, a beverage container disposed in said upper chamber onsaid partition, valve means in communication with said container forcontrolling the discharge of beverage from said container, said valvemeans being disposed behind ,the cut-out area of said upper door andcarried by said upwardly extending portion of the mullion, a cover forsaid valve means, said cover having a front surface substantially flushwith said faces of said doors, a discharge nozzle and a valve actuatingmember, said nozzle and said actuating member being operativelyconnected to said valve means and extending through said cover foraccess by a user of the refrigerator.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS125,323 Nunan Apr. 2, 1872 1,410,543 Ashworth Mar. 28, 1922 1,621,162Green Mar. 15, 1927 1,942,742 Austin Jan. 9, 1934 2,716,507 Graves Aug.30, .1955

